Phase IV of aircraft closed beta testing!

On September 12th, 2024, the final ‘4th’ phase of the Closed Beta Test (CBT) for air mode started. This phase includes testing of aircraft and maps from previous phases.

Commanders participating in the previous phases of the test have automatic access to this next phase.

Vehicles, locations and missions

Vehicles

In the last stage of CBT, pilots will be able to test all the vehicles that were available in previous stages in battles:

• Stage I aircraft – F3F-2, He 51 C-1, I-15 WR;
• Stage II aircraft – P-51C-10, La-5, IL-4, SB2C-4;
• Stage III aircraft – B-17G, FW 190 C, Yak-3T and P-38K.

Please note that you can still pre-order top-ranked aircraft (FW 190 C, Yak-3T and P-38K) until the end of the CBT. These planes will appear in the hangars of pre-order pilots as soon as the OBT starts. There will be no other ways to get these vehicles after the end of the CBT. We kindly recommend that you purchase the pre-order aircraft before September 16th, 2024, 10:00 (GMT), although the exact date of the end of testing is still unknown.

Locations

The aircraft locations are the same as they were in the previous testing phases. However, they have been optimized for better performance on gaming devices. You will be randomized to one of these maps.

"Ground Strike" mode

The mission rules have not changed, the scoring system is the same as it was in the 3rd stage:

• 10 vs 10 player confrontation.
• The winner is the team that brings the opposing team's score scale to 0 or is the first to destroy all enemy ground forces or destroy an enemy airfield.
• Points on the enemy team's scale are removed when you/allies destroy enemy vehicles and other objects.
• Fortified ground forces and objects for bombing are located to the map: bunkers, tanks, bases and airfields.
• You can destroy an enemy airfield only after destroying all enemy bases.
• The following events are counted in the player's personal combat statistics: damage and destruction of vehicles, ground forces. bases and airfields. Damage to allied vehicles reduces your results.

Tasks of phase IV testing

• To get a general overview of how commanders feel about the air combat: duration of the session, difficulty of the fight session and the missions, configuration and characteristics (power, speed, protection, controllability) of the vehicle, etc.
• To get the information on regular combat sorties: checking vehicles, missions and maps, as well as new and improved functionality based on the results of 1-3 stages.
• To check the speed and quality of matchmaking and server workload.
• To correct the identified issues in the bomber and fighter flight control systems, as well as in the navigation, combat, and defense systems.

During the first phases of testing, many of your comments and suggestions were collected. Here's a list of the changes awaiting you in Phase IV, which require thorough testing in live player battles.

Functionality:

• The functionality of auxiliary control of aircraft with the help of gyroscope has been added. It is not a separate mode of gyroscope control, but the option to turn the aircraft in flight, perform barrel rolls, etc.
• The "Aircraft Motion Control" setting has been added. It allows you to select an alternative type of control: "Dynamic Stick", "Static Stick".
• A circular menu for switching between third-person, virtual cockpit, gunner and bombing cameras has been added to the aircraft mode.
• The ability to control turrets in Gunner mode on aircraft that have this type of weapon has been added.
• An option to select different types of aircraft sights has been added.

Changes:

• The mission balance has been optimized: on some maps key objects (bases, airfields, ground forces) have been moved to provide more dynamic combat.
• A bomb drop counter for bases has been added.
• A landing gear brake button has been added to the airplane control interface, which is displayed only when landing. An airplane now doesn't brake automatically at 0% thrust.
• A second firing button has been added as requested by players. For convenience, you can separate the guns to one of the buttons.
• A bug that caused the airplane speed slider to not reset to “zero” after respawning has been fixed.
• The appearance of the captured target marker outside the player's view has been changed.
• The appearance and visibility of the lead angle indicator has been improved.
• A bug that made it impossible to switch from automatic firing to manual gunner control on some airplanes has been fixed.
• The icons of bases and destroyers in the combat chat (killlog) have been fixed.
• The appearance of the battle re-entry window has been changed.
• The display of the power scale (WEP) of airplanes has been improved.
• The option to select a target by tapping on an enemy airplane with your finger has been added. This feature can be enabled in the aircraft settings if desired.
• The aviation maps and cloud display have been optimized for better performance.

You can leave feedback and comments on airplanes in a specially created chat in Discord, or send us via Telegram-bot as well as via the game. Please send as detailed information as possible about the problem or bug you found.

Other feedback about the game can be left in the Discord chat, and information about bugs – on the website.

We wish you clear skies and a great experience, commanders!

*Characteristics are current at the time of the current stage of closed beta testing.

**Final interface, vehicles and appearance of locations may be different from those shown in the screenshots.